Sex, Stuff, and Status: What's Really Keeping Christ Out This Christmas

 

We’re Going to Rome!

I have to say I’m so excited for these children that are going to be going to Rome. You know, when people ask me, “Are you excited? Are you happy?” I say, “I’m excited because I know they will be excited.”

And so this is the first time that they’re going to be singing in Latin and Greek. The Kyrie was in Greek. But before we head off to Rome on the 29th of December, so they’ll have three opportunities to see the pope. Three opportunities. And God willing, in each one of them, he’ll have an opportunity to maybe shake their hands or give them a blessing or something. So keep them in your prayers because you made it possible. You made it a reality. We raised enough money for every single child that wanted to go could go. And so because of you, that is just a tremendous blessing for their families and for our community, our parish. You were a big part of it.

The King of Advent

In this fourth Sunday of Advent, there is a character that is a king, a king. And you have to understand that if the church wanted to use these readings for the last Sunday before Christmas, there’s a reason for it. And that is because we need to highlight what it takes for Christ to come into this world.

See, because many times when we think of Christmas, we think of God coming from heaven to earth. And that is, of course, a big part of Christmas. But there is also another part. And that is you’ve got to find room for him. You have to find a place for him in your life.

Humble Yourself

And in these readings, we begin with the book of the prophet Isaiah. Then Isaiah said, “Listen, O house of David.” After another prophet, Ahaz, said, “I’m not going to ask the Lord for a sign. I’m not going to do it.”

At first, you know, you think that he would say, “I’m going to ask the Lord. I want a sign. I want a sign. Before I open up my mouth, I want a sign. I want a sign. I want to be able to see first before I open up my mouth.”

And then all of a sudden, he says, “No, no, no, forget it. Forget it. I don’t want a sign.”

And as soon as he says that, he receives a sign. Because you have to be willing to trust in God or be humble enough to place your life before the Lord. And because he’s asked for no sign, “I will not ask. I will not tempt the Lord,” then all of a sudden, he received the sign. “The virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall name him Immanuel.”

In the responsorial psalm, “Let the Lord enter.” How do I let the Lord enter? What must I do or what must I avoid doing in order for the Lord to enter? Let the Lord enter. He is the king of glory.

Your Obedient Slave

And in the second reading from the letter to the Romans, Paul—remember, the Romans, the Romans, the Romans were the top. The Romans were the kings. The Romans were at the top of the pyramid. They were at the top of the food chain. They owned everything. They were the masters. And Paul was Roman. He was a Jew and he was Roman. And he purposely says, “Paul, a slave of Jesus Christ.”

Why would you ever want to be a slave of anyone? No one, except one: Jesus Christ. That humility that is required to do great things. “To all the beloved God in Rome called to be holy.” You have been called to be holy, not to be great, not to be rich, not to be powerful. You’ve been called to be holy.

And then in the gospel today, in the gospel, who is the king in the gospel? In this particular passage, it is Joseph. Can you imagine the church waits until the last Sunday of Advent to be able to highlight Joseph? Joseph is the king. Joseph is so important. And he never says a word. He just does it. He just gets it done.

And what does he do? Well, my dear brothers and sisters, he flies in the face of this world, of our culture. 

Sex, Stuff, and Status

What are the three things in this world that we are all constantly bombarded with? Sex, stuff, and status. Those are the three things that we are constantly bombarded with. Sex, status, and stuff.

And when we talk about sex, what are we talking about? We’re talking about pleasure, self-gratification. “I want to feel good. I want to feel good.” And Joseph, he flies in the face of that.

When it comes to status, what are we all looking for? We want a name for ourselves. We want recognition. You know what? Let me tell you something, folks. When people from this parish come up to me and they say, “Father, I’m going to pray that one day you are pope”—me, me, me—and I say, “You’re crazy. If you want the church to be destroyed, go for it, right?” Or “I had a dream that you were in hell.” Guys, stop. Stop. You didn’t have a dream. It was a nightmare. It was a nightmare.

Words Are Cheap

You know, it’s easy to preach. It’s easy to preach. It’s another thing to get it done. You know, every time people read from the Bible, all our lectors, they read. They read things that are hard to do. And they read it as if it were nothing. No, there is a big difference between preaching and doing. Don’t forget that.

You know why? Even me, I know what’s right. I know what I have to do. I know. Everybody here knows what they have to do. Everybody here has a good heart. You don’t want to offend the Lord. So what’s the problem? This, the muscle. That’s the problem. It’s not like you’re ignorant. No, we all know what’s right and what’s wrong. We all know. Who wants to offend the Lord? Who wants to offend the Lord? Everybody has a good heart. Get it done. Do it. That’s the tough part. That’s the tough part.

The status. How do you know that that’s being? Go on Instagram all the time. It’s always people. It’s not always. There’s a lot of good stuff on social media. But there’s also a lot of “Look at me. Look at where I am. Look at what I’m doing. Look at all this. Look at all that. Look how many followers. Thank you for the 10,000. Thank you for the one million. Thank you for...” Status is a big thing.

And Joseph, “I love you. You love me. I’m here to help.” That’s it. “I’m here to help.”

The sex, in other words, pleasure, looking for pleasure. We know that sometimes to do the right thing is going to be uncomfortable. “I love you. You love me. God has given us a mission. I accept the mission. Our relationship is not going to be like everybody’s relationship. Our relationship is going to be different. Why? For the mission. For the mission.” The mission comes first.

And like I said, it’s easy to preach. It’s another thing to do it, to do it. And Joseph did it. Joseph did it.

Harvard & Success

You know, I showed the kids on Friday at school mass, the Harvard Business Review, a magazine. Does anybody remember what the cover was? I’m so proud. I did this at 7:30. Nobody. What was the cover? Does anybody remember? Yes. Anybody remember? Diesel. Oh, go to the microphone. Nobody can hear you. No, no. Just go. Yeah. Yeah, a picture of a foot tied to a brick. Right? See? A picture of a foot tied to a brick.

And they say, “Stop holding yourself back.” Harvard Business Review, boom, big people, big people, CEOs, leaders. And they’re telling them, “Stop holding yourself back.”

Because this is something about all of us, our pride, our vanity, our sensuality. They talk about ten things. First of all, let me tell you about the picture. The picture is not original. Actually, it’s based on, I think, on a story of the elephant and the pole. If you’re old enough, you remember a story as a child of the elephant and the pole, where a little pole and a little rope ties a huge elephant that could easily break from the pole, easily. But it doesn’t believe it can. It’s been trained to believe that it doesn’t have the power to do it.

And everything in this story, they give you ten reasons. You know what? Again, not original. I could, if they had asked me, I would tell you, “You know what you just described?” Look at this. These ten:

“I need to be involved.” “I know I’m right.” “If I can do it, so can you.” “I can’t say no.”

The Real Problems

You know what these are? Pride, vanity, sensuality. “I need to be involved,” sensuality. “I can’t let go. I can’t let go. I got to be involved.” And it’s more uncomfortable to let go than to think that you’re needed in everything. And our pride, right? “I can’t be wrong. Can’t make a mistake.”

Well, of course, if you can’t make a mistake, then you’re going to be tied. You’re going to be tied down. Because you’re afraid of what vanity, what other people are going to think about you.

My dear brothers and sisters, if we want the full benefit of Christmas, of God coming down from heaven to earth, open the door. Open the door. Remove the pride, remove the vanity, and remove the sensuality that holds us down. Holds us down. These three root sins hold us down.

In the end, Saint Joseph, his philosophy of life was this: If you’re a loving person, you care about others. That’s it. If you’re a loving person, you care about others.

Amen?

Amen.